Clanton dominates inside as UCF holds off B-CU 72-62 in men's hoops

ORLANDO — Last week, Bethune-Cookman's Adrien Coleman posted the highest shooting percentage in four years for a Division I player.

Coleman hit 13 of 14 shots for 29 points against Stetson on Dec. 3. On Wednesday night, UCF's Keith Clanton had one up on the B-CU junior.

Clanton, the Knights' 6-foot-9, 250-pound senior, hit 14 of 15 shots for a career-high 30 points as UCF held on to defeat B-CU 72-62 at UCF Arena.

Clanton also had a game-high 13 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, against the smaller Wildcats and converted four putbacks. The majority of his points came on layups and dunks.

“Coach (Donnie Jones) got on me in practice for not posting up deep enough,'' Clanton said. “That's what I was trying to do, being more aggressive.''

Coleman led B-CU (4-7) with 19 points. The Wildcats trailed 54-34 with 15:11 left, but they closed to within eight (65-57) on a jumper by Kevin Dukes with 3:42 left.

UCF freshman Matt Williams answered with a 3-pointer from the corner with 3:19 left, and the Knights (5-2) kept their double-digit lead the rest of the way.

“It's a great opportunity to cut the margin to single digits on the road against a good team,'' B-CU coach Gravelle Craig said. “But then Kevin (Dukes) missed the front end of a one-and-one, and they got an offensive rebound.

"I was happy we fought back, but when you play a good team on the road, all the little things matter — getting loose balls, hitting free throws, making your layups. We weren't doing those things.''

The Knights were playing their first game in 11 days and fatigue showed, Jones said.

“A sign of fatigue is missing your free throws, and we missed our final eight (from the line),'' Jones said. We came in having played one game in (19) days. So focusing for 40 minutes is something we have to build back up to.''

Jones credited B-CU's match-up zone with holding the Knights to just 3-of-12 shooting from behind the 3-point stripe, but UCF was able to overcome their long-range shooting troubles by dominating in the paint.

“We played a well-coached, undersized team with great toughness,'' Jones said. “Keith (Clanton) was the mismatch we needed to focus on, and he did a good job. He's one of the best players in Conference USA, one of the best players in the country.''

Oklahoma transfer Calvin Newell, playing in his first game for UCF, hit just one of eight field-goal attempts. But he had a spectacular assist on an alley-oop pass under the basket to Spurlock for a thunderous dunk.

OF NOTE: B-CU guard Ricky Johnson played 21 minutes after missing five games with a concussion. Johnson scored seven points before fouling out in the final minute. B-CU forward Javoris Bryant left the game early in the second half after turning an ankle.